as in masculine
having qualities or traits that are traditionally considered inappropriate for a girl or woman
her father thought that ice hockey was a little too tomboyish for her, but her mother and older brother encouraged her to take it up
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Recent Examples of tomboyish
Linda Kaye Henning charmed audiences as Betty Jo Bradley, the spirited and tomboyish youngest daughter on Petticoat Junction.
—
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Off-duty, the actor can be found in statement outerwear and tomboyish button-ups and trousers.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2025
The brand’s sturdy styles add a tomboyish touch to the wrist of anyone who likes a more androgynous look, a style that’s particularly trendy right now.
—Barry Samaha, Glamour, 12 Nov. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Her outfits were eccentric but unfussy, tomboyish but distinctly feminine.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 11 Jan. 2026
Off-duty, the actor can be found in statement outerwear and tomboyish button-ups and trousers.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2025
The brand’s sturdy styles add a tomboyish touch to the wrist of anyone who likes a more androgynous look, a style that’s particularly trendy right now.
—Barry Samaha, Glamour, 12 Nov. 2025
Jacobson lends her voice to Shira Schwooper, the tomboyish middle child and only daughter.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Her outfits were eccentric but unfussy, tomboyish but distinctly feminine.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tomboyish
Adjective
-
Zephirine would make a beautiful gift for someone with masculine tastes.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
3 Feb. 2026
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Charley was being required by West Virginia law to play on the boys' team, against young men with Adam's apples, strong muscles, and masculine identities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That would have been unladylike.—
Lucy Worsley
September 16,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
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The new girl’s unladylike bravado ensures that she will be asked to board with the Brown girl.—
Chris Bohjalian,
Washington Post,
17 Aug. 2023
Adjective
-
Dior’s collection referenced the H-line created by its founder Christian Dior for Fall-Winter 1954-1955 – a controversial silhouette at the time as its flattened shape appeared, for some, unfeminine.—
Alice Pfeiffer,
CNN,
28 Jan. 2025
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The intention behind this final postcard may have been, yet again, to paint the fight for suffrage as absurd, to make suffragists seem like willful, unfeminine animals.—
Natalie Kinkade,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tomboyish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tomboyish. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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